The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), in partnership with Sotheby’s, hosted its Third Annual Connoisseur’s Dinner: An Evening of Wine and Art on Thursday, April 30, 2009.  The event attracted 163 guests who enjoyed cocktails in the entry to Sotheby’s 10th floor galleries and previewed some of the most extraordinary Contemporary art by names such as Kippenberger, Koons, Prince, Rauschenberg.

Guests proceeded into the main galleries for the dinner and auction portion of the evening where they dined amidst a stellar array of Impressionist and Modern art. Tables were arranged adjacent to the Chagall, Lempickas, Mondrian, Monet, and Picasso, and an extraordinary and elegant Giacometti bronze, which were displayed in preview of the upcoming Sotheby’s auctions.   

Leonard Lauder (ADDF Chairman) and Nancy Corzine (ADDF President of the Board) served as dinner chairs. Honorary Chairs included Audrey and Martin Gruss, Hilary and Wilbur Ross, Betsey and Bill Ruprecht, and Barbara and Donald Tober.  Guests included  Princess Yasmin Aga Kahn, Mashi and Manucher Azmudeh, Dennis Basso and Michael Cominotto, Renée and Robert Belfer, Christine Keuhbeck and Carl Bernstein, David Patrick Columbia, Lisa Dennison, Bonnie Englebardt Lautenberg and Senator Frank Lautenberg, Mark Locks, Grace and Chris Meigher, Essi Metsakallio and David Wassong, Eliza Osborne, Kate Furman Pasik and Timothy Pasik, Denise Rich, Liz and Randal Sandler, Susan Shin and Casey Fahey, Judith and Alfred Taubman, Amy Treitel, Harriet and Ronald Weintraub, ADDF’s Executive Director Dr. Howard Fillit and his wife Dr. Janet Werkmeister, and Faye Wattleton.

A special spring menu, created by Great Performances, included a first course of pan seared diver scallops with a salad of baby and crispy artichokes, accompanied by Jean Noel Gagnard, Chassagne-Montrachet, Les Masures, 2006. The main course featured a filet of beef with creamed spinach flan,  accompanied by a delightful pairing of red wines selected by Leonard Lauder that included Leoville Poyferré (2001) and Gruaud Larose (2001).  Dessert was a pineapple chocolate bouche, served with Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial Rosé, 2006, generously provided by Moët & Chandon.

Marti Dinerstein, keynote speaker of the evening and new member of the ADDF Board of Directors, spoke movingly of her family history of Alzheimer’s, her work with the ADDF and her own future, which includes Alzheimer’s disease. Her speech so touched the audience that they offered a standing ovation for her courage and candor.

Sotheby’s generously sponsored the dinner for the third year in a row. Additional sponsorship included Nancy Corzine, Estée Lauder Companies Inc, Metrokane, Jennifer Miller, Moët & Chandon, and Quest Magazine, with additional support by Barbara’s Flowers.

Jamie Niven, Sotheby’s Chairman, North and South America, led the Science Auction, where guests bid to support two specially-chosen research projects aimed at drug discovery with immediate impact; this program raised over $360,000, one-hundred percent of which will benefit the chosen projects. “Fund a Biotech” will help PharmatrophiX, (PTX) founded by Dr. Frank Longo, Department Chair of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford University. PTX is an emerging biotechnology company co-founded with ADDF support that has created novel drugs that protect the brain from injury in Alzheimer’s disease. Through the “Fund a Scientist” program, attendees were offered the opportunity to support the work of Dr. Jose Luchsinger, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, and a researcher at the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University, who is testing the use of a currently available drug for prevention and treatment of diabetes (Metformin) for Alzheimer’s disease.  It is now known that diabetes is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.

With ticket sales and the Science Auction, as well as generous donations, ADDF raised over $730,000, which will go directly toward accelerating drug discovery for scientific research.

The 4th annual Connoisseur’s Dinner is scheduled for spring 2010.